Zac joins US rugby champions Wheeling Cardinals

Zac Hay is preparing to make his US rugby debut after completing his studies at Coleg Llandrillo this summer.

The 18-year-old is now at Wheeling University in West Virginia, and will play for their National Championship-winning team the Cardinals.

Zac, from Abergele, was awarded a rugby scholarship at Wheeling, where he is studying for a degree in Exercise Science.

He spent the previous two years at Coleg Llandrillo’s Rhos-on-Sea campus, studying Level 3 Sport (Performance & Excellence). Zac also played for Llandrillo’s rugby academy team, which helped prepare him for the student athlete lifestyle he is living across the pond.

“College gave me a taste of being in an academy,” said Zac who also played for Colwyn Bay Rugby Club and for his former school Rydal Penrhos.

“When I was playing for Colwyn Bay we were a good team, we trained hard and gave it our all, but it wasn’t like an academy. You trained once a week and you played your Sunday game.

“But the purpose of an academy is to improve your rugby, and that’s what it was like at college.

“We’d train three or four times a week, have strength and conditioning sessions - it introduced me to that sort of environment and gave me a taste of what that lifestyle is like. It gave me a lot of experience as a rugby player and what to expect from an academy like this.”

Zac and his fellow Cardinals team-mates are now in training for their title defence, with their first game taking place on September 21.

They can take inspiration from recent Wheeling graduate Aaron Juma, who was drafted by professional team Old Glory DC after helping the Cardinals win the Championship last season.

After university, Zac wants to set up his own personal training company working with rugby players in Dubai, where he used to live. But first he is ready to train hard and see how far the sport can take him in the US.

“I’ve never enjoyed playing rugby so much,” he said. “My attitude to rugby has completely changed since I came here. I wanted to study abroad, and my rugby was going to get me there, but training every day, my attitude has changed and I really want to focus on rugby now.

“I would love to play professionally, but it’s difficult. The level of rugby in the US is underestimated. It’s all international players here - there are only 3 US players in the team. The others are from South Africa, Zimbabwe, England, Morocco, Canada and myself from Wales.

“The Zimbabwe guys are insane, they’re huge, fast, fit and physical. The South African guys obviously live and breathe rugby. So it’s a different game, it’s a step up in terms of physicality.

“I’ve never come across a team with as much drive and energy. Within the first couple of weeks I felt I’d known these guys for years - it’s like a family.

“The sevens team here is also exceptional, one of the strongest sevens teams in the whole country. They competed at Tampa Tropical Sevens and won every single game - these guys are the real deal.”

Of course, Zac has to stay on top of his studies if he wants to make the team, and studying at Llandrillo prepared him for that expectation.

“College has definitely set me up to be more independent,” he said. “I’ve learned a lot of time management skills, preparation skills, being more organised.

“Being a student athlete you have to turn up to your lessons and do your assignments - if you don’t, you’re not playing rugby. You’re here to study and the academics come first.

“I have to get up on time, have my homework complete, my kit ready for rugby. I have to be prepared for every day, and college has done a great job preparing me for that.

“Also, all the knowledge from the course I did at college feeds into what I’m doing here. It’s given me a head start on some of my fellow students. For example, at college I did anatomy and psychology. I do anatomy now and I’ll be doing psychology in my second year, so I’m finding that the course has set me up very well.

Zac is thankful to lecturer Rhodri Davies, his personal tutor at Llandrillo, for helping him maximise his opportunities.

He said: “Rhodri’s an amazing guy. He bends over backwards to make sure you get to university, and he’ll do anything to help you achieve your dreams. I’ve never had a teacher like him before - he’ll be forever my favourite teacher. I had a great two years at college - two of the best years of my life.”

It's not too late to apply to college! We still have places available on full-time courses. Go to gllm.ac.uk/courses to find out more